Only a few days ago the US and Israel announced the extension of the 60-day ceasefire in Lebanon to allow Israeli occupation to continue through at least February 18. IDF officials are making comments today, however, suggesting it may be longer than that.
An unnamed senior Israeli military official was quoted in Israeli media outlet Ynet as saying the military shouldn’t withdraw until the Lebanese Army has demonstrated “good and sufficient control” over the country.
This might be a catch-22, as the Lebanese Army has been prevented from deploying into the southernmost villages of Lebanon because they’re still occupied by Israel. Since that occupation is continuing, the Lebanese Army is unlikely to have more control by February 18 than they do right now. This effectively provides Israel a tailor-made excuse to extend its stay longer.
IDF officials said that during the new ceasefire extension, they will continue to prevent civilians from returning to their homes in southern villages and towns. They will also continue “to destroy terrorist areas,” which in practice has meant setting houses on fire and damaging farm fields.
On Wednesday, Israel continued shooting at civilians trying to return home and carried out drone strikes against villages near the border. The largest such incident was a drone strike against Majdal Salm, where five people were wounded by a drone attack. An ambulance was also reported damaged during the attack.
Israel conducted an operation against Maroun al-Ras in which they shot and wounded two civilians, and captured at least four others. Israel has reportedly released three of the four they detained, but has provided no indication why they detained them in the first place.
Official accounts of Israeli operations in southern Lebanon are rare, and when offered, tend to be questionable. For instance, Israel carried out a drone strike in Nabatieh on Tuesday, destroying a vegetable truck. The official narrative was that it was a “Hezbollah truck.”
This narrative is being used in service of the continued occupation of southern Lebanon, with IDF officials suggesting the presence of the “Hezbollah truck” proving Israel can’t withdraw from that area yet. They have so far provided no evidence that this truck was doing anything other than hauling vegetables, and if history is any indicator, they never will.
Israeli officials have floated the suggestion of reestablishing a long-term “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon, which likely would mean a more or less permanent occupation. Israel maintained such a zone from 1978 to 2000.
